Malcolm Xavier Kelly (born December 30, 1986) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former wide receiver who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted in the second round (51st overall) of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Early years

Kelly attended

Longview High School Longview High School (colloquially known as LHS) is a public high school located in the city of Longview, Texas, in Gregg County, United States and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Longview Independent School District ...

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

. He was a three-time all-district first-team selection at wide receiver and was also named First-team all-state his final two years in 2003 and 2004. Kelly caught 29 passes for 638 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, as well as 27 passes for 826 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. Kelly was ranked the sixth best wide receiver in the nation by both ''Rivals.com'' and ''Scout.com'', behind

Patrick Turner Patrick Steven Turner (born May 19, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC Trojans football, Southern California. He was ...

and

DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, where he was recognized as a con ...

among others.

College career

Playing as a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in the 2005 season, Kelly led the Sooners in receptions and receiving yards. He had a season-high eight receptions at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, and hauled in five passes for a season-best 118 yards against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He became the fourth freshman in OU history to lead the team in receiving, the first since 1975. Kelly was named to ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' Freshman All-American Team and All-Big 12 Freshman Team. He also received an All-Big 12 honorable mention (Big 12 Coaches). Kelly ranks No. 4 at Oklahoma for receiving yards by a freshman, No. 5 for receptions by a freshman. In his 19th career game at Oklahoma, Kelly became the fastest player in Sooners history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. During the 2006 season he led the Sooners in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches. In a game against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

he tied the school record with 11 receptions. He also went over 100 receiving yards in five games with a best of 164 versus

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

. He was named MVP of the Big 12 Championship Game. After only two seasons with the Sooners, Kelly made it to eleventh on the all-time career receiving list with 1,464 yards. He also has the second most receiving yards in a season in OU's history with 993 yards, behind Mark Clayton's 1,425 yards. He also led Oklahoma to the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

championship. He scored ten touchdowns in his junior Campaign. Kelly suffered a knee injury early in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and missed most of the game. Kelly began the 2007 season with a great game against

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

, receiving for over 150 yards in a 79–10 victory. A week later he recorded 102 yards and three touchdowns receiving as the Sooners beat the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

51–13. In his junior season he ranked second on the Sooners, grabbing 49 passes for 821 yards (16.8-yard average) and nine touchdowns. After being injured in the Fiesta Bowl, Kelly did not work out at the NFL Combine. On pro day at Oklahoma on April 9, 2008, Kelly ran a disappointing 4.75 and 4.68 in the 40 yard dash. Afterward, the Oklahoma coaching staff acknowledged a last-minute change in the venue and turf—players must wear appropriate shoes for a given surface. Kelly claimed, nd Oklahoma denied with little effort towards a second opinion his injury was misdiagnosed by the Oklahoma staff. Kelly benched 225 15 times. Kelly's short shuttle was 4.15 with a 6.83 cone drill. He was thrown 22 passes from stand-in QB

Eric Crouch Eric Eugene Crouch (born November 16, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He also is a TV sports analyst and recreational equipment vendor. Crouch played college football for the University of Nebraska. In 2001 Crouch won the Heism ...

and caught 21.

Professional career

Kelly was drafted by the

in the second round (51st overall) of the

. On July 14, he signed a four-year, $3.36 million contract with $1.655 million guaranteed. However, due to injuries Kelly was inactive for three of the first five games of his rookie season. He appeared in only five games his first year, catching three passes for 18 yards. Kelly played 16 games in 2009 recording 25 receptions for 347 yards. Kelly spent the entire 2010 season on injured reserve with a knee injury. On August 30, 2011, Kelly was released with an injury settlement.

Post-playing career

On February 21, 2017, it was announced that Kelly joined the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

's football program as an offensive graduate assistant. On March 4, 2019, it was announced that Kelly joined the Texas Christian University's football program as an outside wide-receiver coach.https://twitter.com/tcufootball/status/1102715112215986176

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bioWashington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Malcolm 1986 births Living people American football wide receivers Oklahoma Sooners football players People from Longview, Texas Longview High School alumni Players of American football from Texas Washington Redskins players Houston Cougars football coaches TCU Horned Frogs football coaches